PNB Chapter 57 I Refusal
Chapter 57 I Refusal
Hattori Sekira, who was opposite him, was clearly inferior to him in terms of strength, speed, and reaction, yet he defeated him in just one move.
Kendo seems to be more interesting than he imagined.
Seeing Shirakawa Yuta's actions, Hattori Kaira nodded in satisfaction: "If you want to take this further, how about you become my apprentice first?"
The moment Hattori Sekira's voice fell, the dojo, which had been filled with quiet discussions, immediately fell silent.
Everyone's expression froze instantly, staring at Hattori Sukera in disbelief.
Hattori Sekiryo, one of the representative figures of Japanese Kendo, is the only living 9th Dan of the Itto-ryu school. He is a legendary figure who reached the finals for seven consecutive years and won the championship three times. Seven years ago, after taking on his junior sister Hoshino Tsukigen, he completely announced that he would retire from Kendo and would never take on any more disciples.
Over the past seven years, countless seasoned swordsmen with fifth or sixth dan ranks, ace swordsmen from prestigious universities, and talented young swordsmen who have won numerous awards and achieved fame at a young age have all tried their best to become Hattori Sekira's disciples, but in the end, he politely declined them all, citing his advanced age and lack of energy.
But now, Hattori Sekira, who had long since stopped taking on apprentices, has taken the initiative to ask the young man with the fourth dan in kendo to be his apprentice.
After a brief moment of deathly silence, the entire hall erupted in uproar!
"Wait, my goodness, did I just hear that right? Hattori-sensei is actually going to take on a student!"
"Didn't Hattori 9-dan stop accepting students a long time ago?"
"Not accepting apprentices just means not accepting mediocre talents, not that we won't accept anyone. If you encountered someone with extraordinary talent like the one on the other side, wouldn't you want to recruit them?"
"Wow~ that's true! He's amazing, and so young. He's a real gem."
Hoshino Tsukizuru, who was standing to the side, was also extremely shocked when she heard Hattori Sekira say that he wanted to take on a disciple. It had been almost seven years since Hattori Sekira had taken on a disciple, and she never expected that he would have the idea of taking on a disciple again, and that the person was someone she had brought with him.
However… Hoshino Tsukizuru’s eyes suddenly lit up. If Shirakawa Yuta also became Hattori Saki’s apprentice, wouldn’t he be her junior brother?
The thought of the other person calling her "senior sister" every time they saw her made her feel incredibly happy. Wouldn't that make it 2-0?!
Thinking of this, she looked at Shirakawa Yuta with expectant eyes.
However, Shirakawa Yuta, the protagonist of the incident, was still somewhat hesitant. Although he had regained some interest in kendo, it did not mean that he wanted to become an apprentice.
In a kendo dojo, the teacher-student relationship is highly valued. If someone agrees to become an apprentice, it is far more than a simple teaching and learning relationship like in an ordinary hobby class, and it is also different from the loose relationship in a school.
The saying "A teacher for a day is a father for life" is not a joke in Japanese Kendo, but a real code of conduct and a consensus tacitly accepted by everyone.
Once he agrees to become a disciple and formally joins the master's school, he will be subject to great restrictions in everything he does, and he must obey the master's teachings in every word and deed.
Although Hattori Sekiryo seems alright now, who knows what he'll become after he becomes an apprentice?
Seeing that Shirakawa Yuta remained silent, Hoshino Tsukizuru couldn't help but want to step forward and remind him, but she was stopped by Hattori Sukera as soon as she took a step.
Hattori Sukeroshi continued, looking at Shirakawa Yuta who was still hesitating:
"Although I don't know why you're interested in this wooden sword, if you're willing to become my apprentice..."
At this point, Shirakawa Yuta's eyes lit up. If he could obtain this equipment simply by becoming an apprentice, then it didn't seem like a bad idea!
Anyway, he can equip the wooden sword as soon as he gets it. At worst, he can slowly show his strength later and say that he has a special talent. He should be able to graduate in about three months.
If it's only three months, then that's perfectly acceptable!
But Hattori's next words made him frown again.
"If you are willing to become my apprentice, and after a year of serious study, or if you can make it into the top sixteen in the National Kendo Tournament next March, I will give you this wooden sword."
A year?
Yuta Shirakawa pondered to himself whether it was worth spending a year becoming an apprentice for a single piece of red equipment. That was the question.
As for his later statement about making it into the top 16 of the National Kendo Tournament, he didn't even think about it.
Without any embellishment, it naturally refers to the highest level of Kendo in the country.
Although Hattori Sekira claimed to have the skill of a fifth-dan kendo practitioner, even a seventh-dan kendo practitioner couldn't fare well in the game.
He's only a fifth-dan kendo practitioner; it's better for him not to embarrass himself.
After weighing the pros and cons, Shirakawa Yuta quickly made up his mind—he refused!
Besides the aversion to the possibility of having to obey the other party's orders after becoming an apprentice, there are other reasons as well.
As far as he knew, kendo training in Japan was extremely arduous.
They practiced rigorously in the coldest days of winter and the hottest days of summer, training from dawn till dusk without ceasing.
It's not that he can't endure hardship; in his previous life, he also experienced getting up at 5 a.m. for early morning self-study and not finishing classes until 10 p.m. But kendo is ultimately just an interlude in life. It's fine as a hobby, but it seems unnecessary to practice so hard.
And if you can obviously cheat, why bother practicing on your own...?
After thinking about this, Shirakawa Yuta took a deep breath, and under everyone's gaze, he slowly said:
"I'm sorry, Hattori-senpai, but I must decline!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the atmosphere at the scene, which had just calmed down, exploded again.
Everyone stared at Shirakawa Yuta in disbelief. Even Hattori Kaira, who stood opposite him with a blank expression, showed a hint of surprise in his eyes before frowning again.
When he asked the question, he never considered that the other party might refuse the option.
Hoshino Tsukizuru, who was standing to the side, finally couldn't help but step forward and shout to Shirakawa Yuta:
"You idiot, do you know what you're saying? This is a personal invitation from the teacher! Do you know what that means?! So many people would kill for this, and you're just going to refuse it like that?"
Yuta Shirakawa shook his head; he certainly knew what this invitation meant.
Of course, joining a service department isn't all bad, especially since it's an invitation from the other party.
As long as you agree, you can not only learn swordsmanship from him, but also inherit Hattori 9-dan's connections, resources, and orthodox lineage as his disciple. Your future promotion, competition opportunities, and martial arts status will all be paved with the right path.
Moreover, his social status would be elevated because he was a direct disciple of a ninth-dan kendo master, but he still wanted to refuse.
If he were to be reborn without any special advantages, he might accept it, although he probably wouldn't have received the invitation anyway.
But now, he no longer has the obligation to agree. Whether it's comics, arcade games, or song and novel ideas he provides to others, he can live a good life.
Therefore, there is absolutely no need to agree to it.